Two former Parramatta Eels players are accused of harbouring semi-automatic weapons and possessing more than half-a-million dollars in cash after dramatic arrests in Sydney's Centennial Park yesterday.

Archbishop: confession needs 'discussion'

The Catholic archbishop of Adelaide says the church needs to discuss the responsibilities of priests to whom a crime is confessed.

Philip Wilson was asked at a royal commission hearing into child sexual abuse what happened if someone confessed to a crime against a child.

The archbishop explained that a firm commitment of amendment would be required before the penitent could be given absolution.

That meant the person had to commit to something that showed the behaviour would stop.

"If you heard that in confession, you have the ability to say to them, 'as a consequence of this you must fulfil the obligation of the law'," he said.

The bargaining for absolution was something a priest had to do in the confessional, he told Justice Peter McClellan, who pointed out it left the priest with the knowledge that the person was at least a potential danger to children.

Archbishop Wilson said any confession a priest hears leaves him with knowledge about people's behaviour that could cause problems in all their relationships, not just in regard to children.